Communication mechanism for calls in which speaking is not possible

ABSTRACT

In situations in which one or both parties of a call cannot speak on a telephone, a voice call establishment request ( 5 - 0 ) from an calling terminal (A) to a called terminal (B) is processed as follows. The called terminal (B) is alerted and a two-way connection ( 5 - 14; 5 - 24 . . . 5 - 28 ) is established between the calling terminal (A) and the called terminal (B). In response to determining ( 3 - 10; 3 - 14; 5 - 8 ) that a two-way voice call between the calling terminal (A) and the called terminal (B) is not allowed; a mode server (MS, MS′) receives silent messages ( 5 - 14; 5 - 24 ) via a user interface (UI) of the called terminal (B) and conveys ( 5 - 14; 5 - 26 . . . 5 - 28 ) information based on said silent messages to the calling terminal (A).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to methods and equipment for implementing acommunication mechanism for calls in which speaking is not possible.

There are several situations in which one or both parties of a callcannot speak on a telephone. For instance, libraries, restaurants andpublic performances (concerts, theatres, movies, etc.) are situations inwhich speaking on a telephone is prohibited or socially unacceptable. Ifthe called party (B) cannot take a call, the calling party (A) isusually directed to voice mail. Alternatively, the parties maycommunicate via short messages. Short message service, like the oneprovided by the GSM system and its derivatives, provides a widely-usedsubstitute for conventional calls if one or both parties cannot speak ona telephone. But the short message service has its share of problems.For instance, reading and sending each message requires several acts viathe telephone's menu system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide improved methods andequipment for calls in which two-way speech is not possible.

The object of the invention is achieved by the methods and equipmentwhich are characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. Thepreferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependentclaims.

For example, the invention can be implemented as a method for processinga voice call establishment request from a calling terminal to a calledterminal. A conventional method comprises detecting the callestablishment request, alerting the called terminal or its user andsetting up a two-way connection between the calling and the calledterminals. A method according to the invention also comprises thefollowing steps:

determining that a two-way voice call between the calling terminal andthe called terminal is not allowed;

receiving silent messages via the called and/or calling terminal's userinterface; and

conveying information based on said silent messages to the callingand/or called terminal, respectively.

An aspect of the invention is a method for processing a call setuprequest from an A party to a B party. Another aspect of the invention isan apparatus, such as a mode server, for supporting or implementing theabove method. The mode server can be located in a network element or inthe called terminal or both. As used herein, the mode server is anentity that determines or affects the mode of the call in the incomingand/or outgoing direction. An illustrative but non-exhaustive list ofcall modes comprises normal speaking, messaging, chatting and limitedchatting. Speaking is the preferred mode for calls between two persons,but there are situations in which speaking is not allowed. As far as theinvention is concerned, the precise reason as to why speaking is notallowed does not matter. Speaking may be prohibited by law or etiquette,or the called party may wish to avoid being overheard. From the point ofview of the equipment, the called party gives an indication thatspeaking is not allowed. Such an indication may be given before alertingthe called party, in which case the indication is a “current profile” orpart of it. Or, indication may be given after the alert, in which casethe called party selects the call mode on a case-by-case basis. Whatmatters is that at least one party cannot participate in a two-way voicecall and must participate silently instead. Yet further, the need toestablish a silent call, in at least one direction, may develop duringthe call. For instance, one of the parties may be in a movie, and it maybe possible to speak before the movie starts, but when it starts, thecall must be continued silently, if at all. However, changing the callmode during a call may be technically simpler than having a silent callfrom the beginning, because the parties can inform each other on thesituation.

In the context of this invention, the attribute “silent” means a callmode in which the party in question does not speak. Such a call modecould also be called a “non-voice” call. For example, if the B party isin a library, he/she can have a call in which the incoming half-call isa conventional voice call but the outgoing half-call is a silent one. Onthe other hand, a hearing-impaired person may participate in a call inwhich the incoming half-call is silent but the outgoing one is aconventional voice call, assuming that the hearing-impaired person isable to speak.

An example of a silent call mode is chatting. Chatting means a mode ofconversation in which the chatting party sends his/her messages bytyping on the terminal's keyboard or keypad. Obviously, sendingarbitrary messages by chatting requires the ability to see theterminal's display and keyboard/keypad, and this is impossible in manypublic performances. But even in such situations a party can participatein a two-way dialogue by limited chatting. Limited chatting is a mode ofconversation in which a limited number of messages are available. Forexample, a terminal's user interface may offer two keys for “yes” and“no”, and optionally, a third key for “I don't understand” (or “I cannotanswer right now”). Instead of the few dedicated keys, or in addition tothem, there may be a few different key presses. For example, a singleclick, a double click and a long press may mean three different things.A combination of three keys and three different key presses providesnine different messages such that the terminal user does not have tomove his/her fingers or see the terminal. Alternatively, or in additionto the different keys/key presses, the terminal may store severalpre-stored responses of which one is selected. The terminal's userinterface may provide next/previous selection keys and an OK key.Whenever, the next/previous keys are used, a next or previous messagemay be displayed or read out to the terminal user via an earphone, andthe message is only sent to the other party when the user selects themessage with the OK key.

A server, as in the context of “mode server”, is something that providesa service. The mode server may be a separate server or an attachment topre-existing call processing equipment, such as a mobile switchingcentre or private branch exchange. Or, the mode server may beimplemented as a software agent in the user equipment, such as a mobiletelephone. As a further alternative, the mode server may be implementedas a distributed collection of software, such as a client/server system.

The invention is based on the idea of processing the two directions (or“half-calls”) of the call, ie from A to B and B to A, separately. Anexample of such separate processing is that if B is unable to speak, thedirection from A to B is processed as a conventional voice call but theinverse direction from B to A is processed as a chat connection.

This separate processing does not mean that the directions of the callare always processed differently. For example, it is possible to processboth directions as chat connections. But even such a two-way chatconnection is different from a conventional exchange of short messagesbecause each message of the chat connection does not have to beaddressed separately. The present invention also differs from theconventional short message service in that the caller attempts toinitiate a normal voice call but the mode server automaticallydetermines that the voice call is not permitted and changes the callmode to silent, at least in one direction.

The invention brings about certain problems or questions that do notexist in conventional call processing systems. These problems orquestions are related to the fact that a call may be first attempted asa conventional call but if either party is unable to speak, at least onecall direction must be processed as silent. For instance, which elementdetermines which calls are processed as silent? How is thisdetermination made? Various preferred embodiments of the inventionprovide solutions to these problems.

One solution to the above residual problems is as follows. The mobilephone's user interface provides two (or more) different techniques toanswer an incoming call. For instance, the user interface may havebuttons for “normal call” and “silent call”. Alternatively, a singleshort click on an “answer” button results in a normal call whereas adouble click or a long press on the same button results in a silentcall. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal user provides the inputthat lets the mobile telephone (or the underlying network) to determinethe call mode on a per-call basis.

An alternative solution to the above residual problems is based on userprofiles. Before entering a location in which speaking on a telephone isprohibited or unacceptable, the terminal user changes his/her profile toone that indicates silent calls. The profile may be maintained in theterminal or in an appropriate network element. Co-assigned Finnishpatent application 20021664, filed 18 Sep. 2002, titled“User-configurable call answering/redirection mechanism”, disclosesvarious techniques for maintaining user profiles. That patentapplication is not public at the filing date of the present invention,and its relevant parts are repeated later in this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be described in greater detail bymeans of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings,in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B show examples of network architectures in which theinvention can be used;

FIG. 2 shows the major functional blocks of a mode server according to apreferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating mode-related decisions at the timeof answering a call;

FIG. 4 shows a mobile terminal's user interface that has been speciallyadapted to select a special call mode;

FIG. 5A shows a signalling diagram for a two-way chat connection;

FIG. 5B shows a signalling diagram for an asymmetric voice/chatconnection;

FIG. 6 shows a user interface for selecting one of a number ofpredetermined responses (messages);

FIG. 7 illustrates user records and caller groups;

FIG. 8 illustrates reachability profiles;

FIG. 9 illustrates redirection settings;

FIG. 10 illustrates associations of caller groups, reachability profilesand redirection settings; and

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a reachabilityserver.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1A and 1B show examples of network architectures in which theinvention can be used. FIG. 1A shows an example of a networkarchitectures in which the mode server is located in the access networkserving the subscribers. Reference sign TE generally denotes userterminals 101 and 102, of which terminal 101 is used by the callingparty A and terminal 102 is used by the called party B. The terminals101, 102 are connected to an access network AN. The access network ANcan use any network technology capable of processing calls, includingbut not limited to GSM, UMTS or WLAN with VoIP. The access network ANhas base stations BS to provide a radio interface to user terminals 101,111. One or more switching elements SW route calls, via different basestations, to different terminals. For example, in a GSM network, theswitching elements are mobile services switching centres (MSC). A HomeLocation Register HLR stores subscriber data. An answering server ASprovides voice mail services when Bill is unable to receive calls.

The access network AN is connected to other networks via one or moregateway elements GW. For example, the other networks may be a PublicSwitched Telephone Network PSTN and/or a data network DN, such as theInternet and/or its closed subnetworks, commonly called intranets orextranets. The elements of FIGS. 1A and 1B described above are or can beentirely conventional. In addition to the conventional elements, thenetwork architecture comprises a mode service function. In the exampleshown in FIG. 1A, the mode service function is implemented as a modeserver MS that is closely coupled to the switching element SW. Theinternal structure of an exemplary embodiment of the mode server MS willbe shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 1B shows an embodiment of a network architecture in which the modeserver, here denoted by MS′, is located in the called user's terminal102. The two placements for the mode server, namely in the accessnetwork AN and in the terminal 102, need not be mutually exclusive,however, and an optimal implementation of the mode service is achievedby a combination of a centralized mode server MS and terminal-based modeserver MS′. For example, terminals capable of multimedia operations havesufficient memory for acting as a voice storage for incomingand/outgoing voice messages, and/or as a speech synthesizer. Anadvantage of a voice mail box in a terminal is that the terminal caninform the caller that the call cannot be answered and store a voicemessage from the caller, without disturbing people near the terminal. Aterminal-provided voice mail box is independent from the current accessnetwork operator. Voice storage for incoming voice messages provides theterminal with answering machine capability. In other words, the terminalhas an integrated voice mail box that is independent of the accessnetwork. Voice storage for outgoing voice messages enables the terminaluser to select and send one of several pre-stored voice messages to theother party. In other words, the terminal user needs only a few keys torespond by voice, without speaking on the telephone. Similarfunctionality is provided by a speech synthesizer integrated in theterminal.

FIG. 2 shows the major functional blocks of a mode server according to apreferred embodiment of the invention. If the mode server is anetwork-based mode server MS shown in FIG. 1A, it is preferablyinstalled in the switching element SW. On the other hand, if the modeserver is a terminal-based mode server MS′ shown in FIG. 1B, it isinstalled in the terminal TE (shown as terminal 102 in FIG. 1B).

An essential functional block of the mode server MS, MS′ is a modeconverter MC that is capable of changing the call mode from a voice callto one or more variants of non-voice calls, such as chatting, limitedchatting, transmission of pre-stored or synthesized voice, etc.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mode server MScomprises a reachability server RS and an associated database DB. Thedatabase DB stores profile records PR that indicate the current profileof the called subscriber. If the mode server MS′ is located in thecalled party's terminal, a single current profile is sufficient, and thesubscriber information is redundant. Further preferred embodiments ofthe reachability server RS and the profiles will be described inconnection with FIGS. 7 through 11. As far as the invention in itsbroadest sense is concerned, it is not strictly necessary to store anyprofiles, as long as the called party explicitly indicates a desiredcall mode each time he/she answers an incoming call. A stored profile PRis beneficial, however, because it provides the mode server with adefault mode for the incoming call, and enables the mode server todirect the incoming call to an answering service when the called partyis unable to take any calls, including silent ones.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment formode-related decisions at the time of answering a call. This embodimentshows how pre-stored profiles and on-the-fly decisions can both be usedto determine an appropriate mode for an incoming call. In step 3-2, themode server MS checks whether the called party's profile, if any,indicates voice mail, that is, an answering service. If yes, the call isdirected to voice mail in step 3-8. If the profile does not indicatevoice mail, or none exists, the user is alerted in step 3-4. If thecurrent profile indicates silent calls, the user is alerted silently,preferably by a vibrating alert. In step 3-6, the mode server MS checkswhether the called party responds in a predetermined time, such as 10seconds. If not, the call is directed to voice mail in step 3-8. If theuser does respond, the process advances to step 3-10 in which the modeserver MS checks whether the called party selects an explicit call modewhen responding to the alert. Techniques for on-the-fly indication of acall mode will be described in connection with FIG. 4. If the calledparty selects an explicit call mode, the call is processed in theuser-selected mode in step 3-12. Otherwise the process advances to step3-14 in which the mode server MS checks if there is a profile thatindicates a certain call mode. If yes, the call is processed in the modeindicated by the profile in step 3-16.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is beneficial in the sense that the usercan select a profile that indicates a default mode for incoming calls.However, the user may override that default on a per-call basis. Itshould be noted, however, that the flow chart shown in FIG. 3 is only anillustrative example, and the different checks may be performed in otherorders as well.

FIG. 4 shows a mobile terminal's user interface UI that has beenspecially adapted to select a special call mode. The user interface UIcomprises a display DI that indicates the calling party. The userinterface UI also comprises a set of function keys 41 that allow theuser to respond with a desired call mode. The function keys 41 may besupported by associated legends 42. In this example, the function keys41 comprise keys for a normal call and chatting. The function keys 41may be implemented in a variety of ways. For instance, there may beup/down/ok keys or a joystick-type switch. Or, the set of function keys41 may be replaced by a roller that is rolled upwards or downwards andclicked for selecting the current call mode.

FIG. 5A shows a signalling diagram for a two-way chat connection. Thissignalling diagram relates to an embodiment in which a network-basedmode server MS comprises (or is otherwise associated with) a modeconverter MC, a reachability server RS and its associated database DB.In step 5-0, the calling terminal A sends a call setup signal whichproceeds to the switching element SW. In step 5-2, the switching elementSW makes an inquiry to the reachability server RS (which in turn makesan inquiry to its database DB) concerning the called party's currentprofile. In step 5-4, the reachability server RS/database DB return thecurrent profile to the switching element SW. Let us assume that thecurrent profile indicates a call mode of “chat”. In step 5-6, theswitching element SW conveys the call setup signal to the terminal ofthe called party B. In step 5-8, the B party responds. Now the switchingelement SW knows that the B party is able to take the call. For example,the B party may be located in a place where speaking or voice alert areprohibited but the B party is able to take the call because theterminal's alert is set to silent/vibrating. In step 5-10, the switchingelement SW requests the mode converter MC to read instructions to thecalling party A. In step 5-12, the mode converter MC reads a voiceannouncement that tells the caller A that B can hear A's voice but canonly respond by chatting. The voice announcement is preferably read tothe B party as well. Otherwise, B could be confused because he/she doesnot hear anything as long as A listens to the voice announcement. Instep 5-14 there is a two-way chat connection between A and B.

FIG. 5B shows a signalling diagram for an asymmetric voice/chatconnection. This means that A communicates by voice and B responds bychatting. Steps 5-0 through 5-12 are similar to the corresponding stepsin FIG. 5A and will not be described again. However, FIG. 5B shows ascenario in which A can keep talking for the entire duration of theconnection, and the contents of the announcement in step 5-12 areadapted accordingly. In step 5-22, A talks to B who may hear A's speechvia an earphone connected to the terminal. In step 5-24, B responds bychatting (typing text). In step 5-26, B's text response is converted tospeech. For example, the mode converter MC may comprise a speechsynthesizer for converting chat responses to speech. Alternatively, themode converter MC may store a number of pre-recorded voice responses ofwhich the B party selects one. This means that the signal in step 5-24is a selection of one of the pre-recorded voice responses. A preferredembodiment of the mode converter MC supports both options, ie,synthesized speech and pre-recorded voice responses. A benefit ofsynthesized speech is that an arbitrary response can be sent. In otherwords, the responses do not have to be pre-recorded. On the other hand,it is beneficial to be able to store certain frequently-used responsesas pre-recorded voice responses, because it is faster to select one ofpre-recorded voice responses than to type the response from scratch.Also, if the B party is in a theatre or the like, even chatting may beimpossible, and the only way for the B party to communicatebi-directionally is to select one of pre-recorded messages. In step5-28, the B party's response is finally conveyed to the A party.

In the example shown in FIG. 5B, the mode converter MC performstext-to-speech conversion. If the mode converter MC comprises aspeech-recognition apparatus, it is also possible to performspeech-to-text conversion. This means, for example, that the parties canhave a two-way communication in which one party speaks and listens whilethe other party communicates by chatting. Naturally, currentspeech-to-text conversion is not yet mature enough to support continuousspeech from an arbitrary caller in arbitrary surroundings, butspeech-to-text conversion is possible with limited vocabulary and smallpauses between words.

FIG. 6 shows a user interface for selecting one of a number ofpredetermined messages. This embodiment eliminates the need to typefrequently-used responses key by key. In the example shown in FIG. 6,the terminal's user interface UI comprises programmable function keys 61that are preferably associated with adaptive legends 62. The user usesthe function keys 61 to select a desired response from a list of severalpre-stored messages 63. In this example, the user is about to select thephrase “I will call you later”, denoted by reference numeral 64.

The terminal shown in FIG. 6 has the capability to store thepre-recorded messages 63. The act of storing pre-recorded messages istechnically similar to editing a terminal's address book and needs nodetailed description. One way to use the pre-stored messages is suchthat a speech synthesizer converts a text message to synthesized speech.Another possibility is that the pre-stored messages are pre-recordedaudio messages, in which case the terminal user can respond with his/herown voice. The act of storing pre-recorded audio messages is technicallysimilar to recording user voices in voice dialling and needs no detaileddescription.

The user interface UI shown in FIG. 6 can be used even in darkness ifthe currently-selected message 64 (synthesized or pre-stored) is readout to the terminal user via the terminal's earphone, and only when theterminal user presses the OK button, the selected message 64 istransmitted to the other party.

In the above description of the invention, a cursory reference was madeto the use of profiles in connection with the mode server shown in FIG.2. FIGS. 7 through 11 illustrate the use of profiles and redirectionsettings in more detail, in the context of further preferred embodimentsof the invention.

Within this detailed description, the name “Bill” refers to the terminaluser whose incoming calls will be processed according to the invention.The reason for this name is that Bill will be acting the called or Bparty during a call, and “Bill” begins with a B.

FIG. 7 illustrates Bill's address book 70 and caller groups 73. As usedherein, a caller group means a set or group of potential callers (futureA parties) sharing similar redirection settings. A call group cancomprise one or several members. The address book 70 is basicallysimilar to the address book stored in a SIM card that is attached to aGSM mobile telephone. The address book contains a record for each ofBill's contacts (persons or companies). Each record comprises a namefield 71 and a number (or address) field 72. The name field 71 containsa free-format name, as is well known from conventional GSM telephones.The number/address field 72 may contain a conventional telephone numberor any usable network address, such as an MSISDN number, TCP/IP address,e-mail address or the like.

Reference numeral 73 generally denotes Bill's caller groups. In thisexample, the caller group “Family” consists of the records for Alice,Bob and Cecilia. Another caller group “Colleagues” consists of therecords for Dave L, Eric M and Frank W. The third caller group“Secretary” only comprises Bill's secretary Gail T. The fourth callergroup “Friends” comprises Harry P and Ian R. The four first callergroups are formed explicitly, such that Bill explicitly adds records 70(potential callers) to one of the caller groups 73.

In addition to explicit caller groups, there may be implicit callergroups, two of which are shown in FIG. 7. In this example, a firstimplicit caller group “others” comprises all the records 70 in theterminal's address book that do not belong to any of the explicit callergroups. As soon as a record 70 is added to one of the explicit callergroups, that record is removed from the “Others” group. The caller group“Others” may be used to indicate how to process calls from persons thatare listed in Bill's address book 70 but do not belong to any of theexplicit caller groups. Another implicit caller group “Unknown”comprises persons that are not stored in Bill's address book. The callergroup “Unknown” may be used to indicate how to process calls frompersons that are not known to the called party.

As regards the association of the records 70 and caller groups 73, whatreally matters to the reachability server/service is the association ofa number/address field 72 and a caller group 73. This is because thereachability server detects the caller's identity based on the callersnumber (or other network address) 72. For the reachability server (andcall processing in general), the name 71 is irrelevant. From Bill'spoint of view, however, it is much more convenient to associate a callergroup 73 to a name 71 than to a number 72.

FIG. 8 illustrates reachability profiles 80. If the profiles 80 arestored in a centralized (network-based) mode server, the profiles haveto be associated with a certain subscriber, such as the profile PR shownin FIG. 2. In FIG. 8, we assume that the profiles 80 are stored in aterminal-based mode server, or that the profiles are associated with acertain subscriber, although such association is not shown.

Each reachability profile 80 comprises at least a label (or identifier)field 81. According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention,a reachability profile 80 may also comprise a free-format presenceinformation field 82. For example, the reachability profile “Meeting”comprises a presence information field 82 whose contents is “I am in ameeting . . . ” This presence information may be returned to a caller ifthe called party cannot answer calls.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, areachability profile 80 may also comprise a default redirection settingfield 83. The use of redirection settings will be explained inconnection with FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 illustrates Bill's redirection settings 90. A redirection settingis a parameter that is used to answer the following question: what to dowith a call setup request? The redirection setting indicates one or bothof the following: 1) where (and whether) the call is redirected, and 2)which mode the call is changed into. An example of the first alternativeis a setting which determines that an incoming call is to be redirectedto a different number (or another network address). For example, aredirection setting may indicate that a call is first attempted to the Bparty's user terminal for five seconds, then to a home number for 10seconds and then to an answering service. Alternatively, a call may berouted to an Internet address, either temporarily or during waiting. Anexample of the second alternative is a setting which determines that thecall mode of an incoming call is changed to chat. In other words, if avoice call cannot be established, a chat connection may be set upinstead. Thus the redirection setting may include a call mode indicatorthat indicates a changed call mode. For example, the changed call modemay indicate a silent communication for one or both of the parties.

Each redirection settings record 90 consists of a label (or identifier)field 91 and an actual redirection setting field 92. Thelabel/identifier field 91 is preferably a free-format field, wherebyBill can enter short but descriptive names. From the point of view ofthe reachability server, however, any identifier is usable. The firstredirection settings record 901 has a label field 91 of “OfficeFirst”and a redirection setting field 92 of “5sOffice#/5sMobile#/Answer#”.Herein, “Office#” stands for Bill's office telephone number, Mobile#stands for his mobile terminal number and Answer# stands for the numberof the answering service (voice mail). The redirection setting field 92of “5sOffice#/5sMobile#/Answer#” is interpreted so that a call to theoffice number is attempted first for five seconds, then the mobileterminal's number is attempted for another five seconds, and if thatfails too, the call is redirected to the answering service. The next tworecords 902 and 903 are self-explanatory based on the previous example.The fourth redirection settings record 904 means that an incoming callwill be redirected to the telephone of Bill's secretary. Records 905 and906 indicate that a caller is redirected to URL addresses www.addr1.fiand www.addr2.fi, respectively. For instance, www.addr1.fi may be theaddress of a web page informing the caller that the terminal user isunable to receive calls, and www.addr2.fi may be the address of a moreinformative web page for more trusted callers.

Instead of a different number or network address, or in addition to it,the redirection setting field 92 may indicate a change of call mode. Forinstance, Bill may be in a library in which it is socially unacceptableto speak on the telephone but Bill may be able to chat via thetelephone's keyboard or keypad. According to a further preferredembodiment, the call mode is processed separately for each half-call ordirection of call, that is, for the incoming and outgoing directions.For instance, when eating in the restaurant, Bill may not be able tospeak on the telephone but may be able to listen to the caller's voiceand respond via a chat connection.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the “>” and “<” signs mean change ofcall mode in the incoming and outgoing directions, respectively. Forinstance, redirection settings record 907, labelled “Chat”, has aredirection setting of “>Chat<Chat” which means that both the incomingand outgoing half-calls are converted to chat mode. The next record 908,labelled “Voice/Chat”, has a redirection setting of “<Chat” which meansthat only the outgoing half-call is converted to chat mode.

The last record 909, labelled “Voice/2KeyChat”, has a redirectionsetting of “<2KeyChat” which means that the outgoing half-call isconverted to 2-key chat mode. The 2-key chat mode in the outgoingdirection means that the mobile terminal user is able to listen to thecaller's voice but is only able to respond with a very small number ofkeys, such as two or three. The two keys can be “yes” and “no”. Anoptional third key may mean “I don't know/understand”. The 2- (or 3-)key chat mode is useful in a situation where even conventional chattingis impossible. For instance, Bill may be in a concert, and calls frommost caller groups are redirected to voice mail but calls from ababysitter are converted to 2-key chat mode. The babysitter, who may befacing an urgent problem, calls Bill. The alert of Bill's terminal isset to silent but vibrating. As soon as Bill feels the vibrating alert,he can place an ear-phone to his ear and take the call. The babysittermay then describe the situation and ask questions that can be answeredby “yes” and “no” keys which Bill can memorize and use without takingthe terminal out of his trouser pocket.

FIG. 10 illustrates associations 100 of (reachability) profiles 101,caller groups 102 and redirection settings 103. The first association1001 associates profile “Work” and caller group “Family” withredirection setting “OfficeFirst”. This means that whenever profile“Work” is Bill's current profile, calls from members of the “Family”group are processed according to redirection setting “OfficeFirst”. Thisredirection setting was described as record 901 in FIG. 9. In theexample shown in FIG. 10, there are six associations, namely 1001 to1006, for the profile “Work”. Associations 1001 to 1003 specify thatcalls from members of the “Family”, “Colleague” and “Secretary” groupsare processed according to redirection setting “OfficeFirst”, whilecalls from “Friends”, “Others” and “Unknown” groups are processedaccording to redirection setting “Secretary”, which means that the callis routed to Bill's secretary.

The example shown in FIG. 10 does not have an association for eachcombination of profile, caller group and redirection setting. This isbecause this example makes use of the (optional) default redirectionsetting field 83 shown in FIG. 8. For instance, the profile “Abroad” hasa default redirection setting of “MobileFirst” which is used unless anoverriding association for some caller groups have been specified. FIG.10 shows an association 1031 of profile “Abroad”, caller group “Unknown”and redirection setting “VoiceMail”. This means that when Bill isabroad, he does not wish to take calls from unknown callers because hewould have to pay for those calls. Accordingly, calls from unknowncallers are routed to voice mail.

An advantage of the profiles and redirection settings is that it is veryeasy for users to change their reachability settings, even when thereare multiple caller groups, all requiring different reachabilitysettings. Because the profiles are separated from the redirectionsettings, the profiles may be very simple and, in a simple embodiment,only a profile name or indicator is necessary.

The invention is preferably implemented by co-operation between theterminal and an element (mode server) in the fixed network. Thisco-operation is further improved by setting the alert of the terminalautomatically to silent/vibrating if the current profile of the B partyindicates silent communication. This way, the user does not have toselect a profile that indicates silent communication and silence theterminal's alert separately.

Preferably, the profiles comprise presence information and/orinstructions which is/are returned to the A party. For example, thepresence information/instructions may indicate “I am in a meeting,please dial 1 if you wish to leave a message, or, dial 2 if you haveurgent business; I can reply by chatting”.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a reachabilityserver. FIG. 11 shows a preferred implementation of steps 3-14 and 3-16shown in FIG. 3. In step 1101, the reachability server receives andstores in memory Bill's caller lists 70 (of which only field 72 isessential) and caller groups 73 (see FIG. 7), his profiles 80 (see FIG.8), redirection settings 90 (see FIG. 9) and associations 100 of theabove three types of data (see FIG. 10). Step 1101 can take place in onego or in a distributed manner. In other words, Bill can indicate thesettings 70, 73, 80, 90 and 100 during one session, or he may updateprevious settings.

Dashed lines 1102 and 1105 denote occasions in which the reachabilityserver waits for more actions from Bill or a caller, respectively. Instep 1103, Bill's reachability settings change and he updates hiscurrent profile in the reachability server. In other words, he indicatesthe current one of the pre-existing profiles stored in the reachabilityserver. For instance, if Bill is about to enter an airplane, he selects“Flight” as his current profile.

The remaining steps 1111 to 1118 relate to processing of one call. Instep 1111, the reachability server detects a call to Bill from an Auser. In step 1112, the reachability server retrieves Bill's currentprofile. In step 1113, the reachability server determines the A user'sidentity. For example, the A user can be identified by means of aCalling Line Indicator (CLI). In step 1114, the reachability serverdetermines the A user's caller group, that is, the caller group 73corresponding to the A user's identity 71. In step 1115, thereachability server attempts to retrieve the redirection settings record100 corresponding to the A user's caller group 73 and Bill's currentprofile 80. In step 1116, it is checked if such a redirection settingsrecord could be determined, which means that there was an associationcorresponding to the A user's identity and Bill's current profile. Ifyes, the process continues to step 1118 in which the call is processedaccording to the redirection settings.

According to a preferred embodiment, if the check in step 1116 failed,the process continues to step 1117 in which it is checked if Bill'scurrent profile indicates a default redirection setting. For instance,each of the profiles “Theatre”, “Flight” and “Abroad” in FIG. 8 doindicate a default redirection setting. If Bill's current profileindicates a default redirection setting, the process again continues tostep 1118 in which the call is processed according to the (default)redirection settings.

If checks 1116 and 1117 both fail, the process continues to step 1119 inwhich the call is processed normally (no redirection or mode change).

An advantage of the profiles and redirection settings as shown in FIGS.7 to 11 is that the terminal user has to send the reachability serveronly one piece of information, namely an indicator of the currentprofile, whenever the reachability conditions change. The caller groups,profiles and redirection/call mode settings are pre-stored and arechanged much less often. Because the caller groups, profiles andredirection/call mode settings are pre-stored at the reachability server(or are otherwise accessible by it), call processing is much moreflexible than in a system which only supports a single redirectionsetting to all callers.

Further Enhancements to the Mode/Reachability Server

Preferably, the mode server MS and the reachability server RS (orequivalent functions in other network elements) support as many aspossible from the following redirections and mode changes:

-   -   1. redirection to another telephone;    -   2. redirection to voice mail;    -   3. timed redirection to another telephone/voice mail (e.g. five        seconds to office phone, 5 seconds to mobile phone, then to        voice mail;    -   4. sending the caller a data message, such as a short message or        an MMS (Multimedia Messaging Specification) message, or a        partial or whole web page;    -   5. sending the caller a network address, such as a URL,        preferably formatted as a link, wherein the network address        contains more detailed information;    -   6. conversion of incoming and/or outgoing call to chat or        limited chat (e.g. 2-key chat);    -   7. conversion of incoming and/or outgoing voice to text or vice        versa;    -   8. providing additional services (music, video, games . . . )        during waiting;    -   9. personalized voice answering in the answer service        (network-based or terminal based); that is, the voice        information depends on A's caller group and B's current profile;

Option 6 is implemented without text-to-speech or speech-to-textconversion. That is, if B can only chat but not talk, then a chatconnection is established in at least one direction. For instance, A cantalk to B but B will type his responses. Alternatively, both parties canresort to chatting. Option 7 requires text-to-speech or speech-to-textconversion. For instance, A can talk and B's typed responses areconverted to speech.

The invention is useful if one or both parties of a call cannot speak ona telephone, regardless of why such two-way speaking is impossible.Two-way speaking may be prohibited by law or etiquette, or one or bothparties may be physically handicapped. It is readily apparent to aperson skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, theinventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The invention andits embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but mayvary within the scope of the claims.

Acronyms:

-   CLI: Calling Line Indicator-   GSM: Global System for Mobile Communication-   MSISDN: Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Data Network-   PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network-   SIM: Subscriber Identity Module-   TCP/IP: Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol-   UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System-   URL: Uniform Resource Locator-   VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol

1. A method for processing a voice call establishment request from ancalling terminal to a called terminal, the method comprising: detectingthe call establishment request; in response to said detecting, alertingthe called terminal; and setting up a two-way connection between thecalling terminal and the called terminal; wherein the method furthercomprises: determining that a two-way voice call between the callingterminal and the called terminal is not allowed; and receiving silentmessages via a user interface of said called terminal and/or callingterminal and conveying information based on said silent messages to thecalling terminal and/or called terminal, respectively.
 2. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said determining is based on detecting apredetermined input via the user interface of the called terminal aftersaid alerting.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein saiddetermining is based on detecting a predetermined profile associatedwith the called terminal, the profile being set prior to said alerting.4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the two-way connection is orcomprises a chat connection.
 5. A method according to claim 1, whereinsaid conveying comprises converting said silent messages to speech.
 6. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein said converting comprisestext-to-speech synthesis.
 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein saidconverting comprises receiving an indication of one of a plurality ofpredetermined voice messages.
 8. A method according to claim 1, whereinsaid plurality of predetermined voice messages is dimensioned such thatany predetermined voice message is selectable without moving fingers onthe user interface.
 9. A method according to claim 1, wherein thedetermining step is carried out by a network element.
 10. A methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the converting step is carried out by anetwork element.
 11. An apparatus for processing a voice callestablishment request from an calling terminal to a called terminal, thecalled terminal comprising alerting means for alerting a user and meansfor setting up a two-way connection between the calling terminal and thecalled terminal; the apparatus comprising means for detecting the callestablishment requests; wherein the apparatus further comprises: meansfor determining that a two-way voice call between the calling terminaland the called terminal is not allowed; means for receiving silentmessages via the called terminal's user interfaces; and means forconveying information based on said silent messages to the callingterminal.
 12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the apparatusis located in a network element.
 13. An apparatus according to claim 11,wherein the apparatus is located in the called terminal.
 14. Anapparatus for processing a voice call establishment request from ancalling terminal to a called terminal, the called terminal comprisingalerting means for alerting a user and means for setting up a two-wayconnection between the calling terminal and the called terminal, theapparatus being configured to detect the call establishment request;wherein the apparatus is further configured to: determine that a two-wayvoice call between the calling terminal and the called terminal is notallowed; receive silent messages via the called terminal's userinterface; and convey information based on said silent messages to thecalling terminal.
 15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein theapparatus is located in a network element.
 16. An apparatus according toclaim 14, wherein the apparatus is located in the called terminal.